


Is it Just Lust, or Maybe Love?

by EmOWrItErLub



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: First Time, Gay, Hannibal is Frozen, I ship this with my life, Life threatening situations bring out feelings, M/M, Smooching, They find other ways to get warm, best show ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-15
Updated: 2014-06-15
Packaged: 2018-02-04 17:12:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1786786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmOWrItErLub/pseuds/EmOWrItErLub
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal goes with his companion, Will to provide some insight on a crime scene. Everything was okay, until Hannibal fell through the ice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is it Just Lust, or Maybe Love?

At first it was lust. Will Graham was accustomed to the sensation. Many of his nights had been spent in the company of an apparition that produced Alana Bloom’s face, but it had been a long time since he had spent his evenings with an actual warm body. He could not tell whether the lack of sexual activity was taking it’s toll on him or if he needed to sit back and re-evaluate his orientation. One man had thrown everything he knew about himself over the wagon and into the dirt. That man was Hannibal Lecter. 

It started with the small things that he took note of. Dr. Lecter putting his hand on his shoulder to comfort him, his occasional smile when Will would make a dry remark, and even the light touches on his back or arm that seemed purely innocent and perhaps even accidental. Each of these trivial things produced a reaction in Will that he was not willing to admit, even to himself. The front of his denim jeans would swell to an uncomfortable state, and he would have to hurry and excuse himself to leave, saying that he was tired or ill. Agent Graham hoped and prayed that the good doctor did not notice the pattern.

He still would come to each and every appointment though, as Jack Crawford dictated, trying to keep his downstairs brain in check as Hannibal would calmly ask him questions about his day. That is why Will felt so horrid, because Hannibal was not just his psychiatrist, he was his friend, and no friend would fantasize about the other’s lips or about jumping him in his own office and nailing him on his desk. Will felt dirty and perverted from his mind trips, but they were uncontrollable and only seemed to get progressively worse.

The breaking point was the night they were tracking down a serial killer that drowned his victims in the Elk River in Clay County, West Virginia. Will had requested that Hannibal come with him to see the drowning sites, provide insight, and also with a bit of mental stability. Will was selfish in asking, he knew, but he always felt more comfortable at a crime scene with the doctor, and Hannibal was always happy to oblige, saying that he enjoyed Will’s company. The pair had set off into the dense thicket of woods, about late afternoon. The trees and bushes were so thick that a vehicle could not go through, so they were on foot for the time being. Hannibal didn’t seem to mind, strolling gracefully down the deer trail like no normal person could. Will did not mind either. He liked the crisp, newly spring air that brought the birds and the little chipmunks out of their hiding places. He enjoyed the smell of the rejuvenated foliage around him and the soft earth beneath his feet. These things combined produced a rare, happy feeling the his stomach. He bounced happily along until a hidden root caught the toe of his work boot. Down he went, and so did his dignity. In a mere second or so, he was sprawled out on his hands and knees in dirt. 

“Are you alright, Will?” Dr. Lecter queried, concern evident on his face. Will huffed.

“Yeah, yeah, Im fine. Wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“Well that’s unfortunate.” Hannibal stated matter of factly as he reached down to help Will back to his feet. “Are we lost?”

“No, No, of course not. I just was too caught up in what was around me.” Will said crossly as he went to accept the hand. That’s when something caught the corner of his eye. He let out an extremely, unmanly shriek. “Snake! Fuck, I hate snakes!”

Hannibal frowned. “Don’t be so crass, Will. It is only a little snake.”

“Yeah! A little copperhead! They’re poisonous!” Will shrieked again as the snake inched closer. Nervous chills started running down his whole body. 

“Will, calm down. They only attack when they feel threatened.” Hannibal assured in a quiet voice before slowly bending down and allowing the snake to coil it’s way up his arm. Will gasped and whimpered a bit as the snake was closer in range. “Settle down, they can smell fear.” Will looked at the doctor incredulously. “In my home country, we used to worship snakes. They are a vital part to this ecosystem.” Dr. Lecter stated, letting the snake wrap itself around his arm before he gently lifted it so that the snake could slither onto a tree branch and go find another hiding place. Will stared at the doctor for a long time trying to process what he had just seen. Hannibal chuckled a bit before assuring him.

“Come now, Will, I was a boy once and I did enjoy catching the occasional snake.” Will incredulously shook his head before continuing to walk down the path. “You must not let your fears rule you. You may find out that there is nothing to fear at all.” 

Will didn’t know if Hannibal Lecter was just talking about the snake anymore.

The two men arrived at the river about sunset and it was starting to get chilly. Will pulled his jacket around him more tightly and began to apologize profusely to the Doctor. 

“Im sorry, I didn’t know it would take this long. If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought you along.”

“Nonsense, I enjoyed the walk.” Hannibal smirked as best as he could. He kept reminding himself that he was there for his friend, Will who needed him. He had to chant his motive in his head as he tromped through the underbrush. It had begun to get very cold and Hannibal secretly wished he had thought to bring his heavy overcoat, and cursed himself for this one time of not being prepared. Too caught up in his own musings, Hannibal started to pick up his pace and became a bit ahead of Will. He wanted to get to this damned river and get out of this chilling cold as soon as possible. While he was cursing to himself, Dr. Lecter did not realize that he had already reached the river. Before he could correct this mistake, he went through the very sheen sheet of ice and plunged into the deathly freezing water. 

“Hannibal!” Will cried as he witnessed his companion disappear before his eyes. Will scrambled on his hands and knees towards the edge of the river and looked down at the hole that Hannibal had created in the ice and horrifyingly discovered that it was slowly re-freezing with Hannibal frantically pounding on the ice, trying to break free. Will’s heart rate spiked. Tears sprang to his eyes as he lifted his foot and brought it down with all his might, desperately trying to break the ice. If Hannibal died, it would be all his fault and he could never live with himself if that happened. It took several good kicks, but finally the ice broke and Will, with shaky hands, reached down and pulled Hannibal Lecter out of the water. The older man was gasping for air, his skin pale and cold. Will instinctively pulled the man into his relatively warm embrace as he regained his composure. Hannibal began to shiver as the bone chilling wind blew through the woods. This brought Will back to earth. “Dr. Lecter, we need to get you out those wet clothes.” His wilderness safety training when he was in the boy scouts came rushing back. 

“Will,” Hannibal returned rather unsteadily. “I cannot exactly go gallivanting through the wilderness in my underwear.”

“Start stripping.” Will commanded. “Wet clothes are worse than none. I’ll give you my overcoat for the time being.” Taking his coat off and offering it to him, while he look off into the forest to give the doctor some privacy. Hannibal Lecter scowled at the impudent younger man, but reluctantly admitted that he was right and began to shuck his wet clothes, thankful that Will had the decency to look away. As Hannibal was getting undressed, Will was coming up with a solution to the problem. “We passed a cabin on the way, from this location, it would take us about five minutes to get there. We will have to spend the night to try to prevent you from getting hypothermia. I will build a fire and they must have some blankets and food stored in there.” Hannibal stood and listened to Will’s plan with a bit of amusement at how the younger man took control of the situation. He would do anything to get out of this wind and actually into some real clothes. 

“Sounds reasonable.” Hannibal consented to the plan, his teeth chattering, much to his dismay. Will snapped out of his daze and nodded before taking the shivering arm of his friend to make their way to the deserted cabin. 

They reached the haven in a matter of minutes, but even then Hannibal began to shiver uncontrollably about halfway and by the time they arrived Will almost had to carry the good doctor over the threshold. Will dug through the cabinets and trunks until he found what he was looking for. He ran over to the older man with arms full of blankets to where he laid in the floor in front of the fireplace. Will took extra care in wrapping the doctor in the thick blankets.

“Thank you, William.” Dr. Lecter whispered quietly trying to bury himself in the cocoon of blankets he had, trying to retain what was left of his body heat. 

“Im going to go find some kindling for a fire. Ill be back in five minutes, I promise.” Will rushed as he ran out the door, trying to hurry as much as possible since he could see the doctor getting worse. He came back with a stack of branches in his arms and quickly began building a fire. He threw a match into the fireplace and was pleased when he saw the relatively large fire burning in the fireplace. Once the fire was deemed acceptable, Will began to lay out the doctor’s nearly frozen clothes in front of the fire to hopefully thaw out.

“Will,” Hannibal warned, even though he scooted his cocoon closer to the source of heat. “We are near a crime scene. I wouldn’t be sending the killer any smoke signals to let him know we are here.” 

“The killer doesn’t live anywhere remotely near here.” Will rolled his eyes at the doctor. “He’s too smart to do something like live where he dumps his bodies. Besides, his pattern suggests that he would not be killing anyone for another couple days.” Hannibal seemed to accept this as he nodded at Will’s explanation. The doctor had sporadic chills running up his spine and he tried to contain them for Will’s sake but some were too noticeable for the young man. “Are you still freezing?” Will asked, his concern evident. Hannibal sighed before reluctantly nodding slightly. “What else can I do for you? Should I make a bowl of soup? I saw some cans in one of the cupboards.” Dr. Lecter shook his head, looking up into Will’s deep blue eyes and noticed how they sparkled in the dim firelight. He longed to reach up and caress younger man’s cheek, or even to run his fingers gently through his unruly, brown curls. Another violent shiver took ahold of his body, and Hannibal could not tell whether it was his reaction to finding the other man attractive or his body trying to regain it’s normal temperature. Hannibal did not like the reaction that Will had produced in him at first, He felt as if he was above such mortal things as lust but it seems as if everybody has an Achilles heel, and Will was certainly his. The man has no idea how intelligent and brilliant he was, nor how provocatively he swung his hips when walking or how his little smirk could set Hannibal off. He cursed himself for being weak, but he could enjoy the feeling if Will was around. He formed a plan.

“I’ve read that body heat is always the best solution to these situations.” Hannibal baited and waited, teeth chattering, for Will to swim over to his hook. Will’s eyes bugged for moment. 

“Are you comfortable with that?” Will asked nervously, trying not to betray how his breath had caught in his throat.

“Oh, come here, William, lest I die of hypothermia.” Hannibal commanded impatiently as he came out his blanket sanctuary and lifted the quilts up so that Will could slip in. Will slowly took off his shoes one by one before shyly laying in front of Dr. Lecter. Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will’s chest and buried his head in his curls. The doctor shivered again, his body praising him for finding a warmer source of heat. “Ahh,” Hannibal couldn’t help sighing in relief. “Warm.” Will stiffened at the breath near the nape of his neck. He was very much aware that the older man was only in his boxer shorts and while his upstairs brain screamed at him to run as far as he could, his downstairs brain was far too intrigued and much more convincing. Dr. Lecter opened his eyes at the movement and regarded him with a teasing expression, although Will obviously couldn't see him. “Are you uncomfortable, William?”

“A tab bit.” Will offered in a quiet voice that Hannibal almost couldn't hear over the crackling of the fireplace.

“Well then, consider this your penance for leading me out here and almost getting me killed.” Hannibal taunted, but he could see that Will was very serious about the situation. The younger man struggled in his arms until he was turned facing him.

“I really am sorry, Hannibal.” Will admitted with soft eyes. “This was all my fault. When I saw you go through the ice and that you were trapped, I knew that if you died I could never forgive myself.” Hannibal’s eyes widened at the seriousness of the confession and realized that Will did, in fact, blame himself for his present situation. Those bright azure eyes blinked up at him innocently through thick lashes, searching for assurance. They stuck a chord in Hannibal’s quiet heart. He gently smiled at the younger man, admiring his pureness of heart and mind, for he had none. Cupping Will’s cheek, he stroked his face soothingly with his thumb. 

“I refuse to let you blame yourself, Will. I voluntarily came with you, and I was the idiotic one who was not alert to his surroundings. The blame is ultimately on me.” Will noncommittal shrug and cast his eyes downward, not fully accepting what Hannibal had stated. Hannibal Lecter acquired a very stern look then, he was not going to let Will beat himself up over the mishap. “William, look at me.” He commanded. The younger man did not obey, but he nervously shifted at the change of tone, not to mention the use of his full name. “William,” Hannibal firmly called again, this time he hooked a finger underneath his chin, forcing him to make eye contact. “You will not blame yourself for this unfortunate incident. If I overhear you saying something to the effect or even thinking the terrible thing, there will be consequences.” The tone Hannibal had assumed made Will shiver as he was made to hold the eye contact. He could see that the doctor had truly meant was he had said. The FBI agent broke the eye contact first, but his gaze had only lowered an inch. He had suddenly realized how close in proximity they were, noses nearly touching. Purely on impulse, Will brushed his lips gently against Hannibal’s. It was a very human thing to do, but William Graham had never felt so many nerve endings set alight at once, never felt so alive in that moment. Hannibal must have felt it too, maroon eyes widened in mild surprise once Will had pulled back. The younger man flushed from his toes to the roots of his curls.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I….” The agent never got to finish apologizing, Hannibal cut it short by kissing him again. This time was not so gentle. Will suddenly became pleasantly light headed as the psychiatrist adjusted them so that he was pressed down into the soft wood and Hannibal was straddling his waist. Obviously, another source of heat was discovered, and before long Hannibal was back to his normal body temperature. Finally, they had to rise up for air, Hannibal chuckled quietly, his face dimly illuminated by the firelight. Will’s breath was taken away a second time in awe of the beauty presented in front of him. 

“So, I assume that the feeling is mutual.” Will laughed at the statement. 

“Yes, Doctor. I suppose it is.” He smirked. The younger agent was relieved at the fact that his feelings were reciprocated. He had never felt like this with any other human being, and it was not just a physical attraction. There was something more between them, almost as if a string under his left rib was tightly knotted to a similar one in Hannibal, a connection that was not found frequently. As if the older man could read his thoughts, He smiled down at him with a rare, fond expression. They said more with their eyes than they could ever verbalize. Hannibal leaned down to give Will a softer, more languid kiss. 

“William, you are a rare jewel and by far the one with the most worth,” Hannibal murmured into his ear softly, before placing several none too gentle bites along his neck. Will moaned in raw pleasure, his whole body reacting to the man above him. “and you must be mine.” 

“I may need some shining, and I might be too deep under the surface of the rock.” Will gasped as he grappled onto the strongly corded shoulders. Hannibal had moved down to lavish his chest and stomach with his affection. 

“No matter, I have a habit of getting what I want.” Hannibal grinned devilishly before dipping his head even lower.


End file.
